The name Owen

About the baby name Owen, at Click Baby Names.com

Note: This article may feature affiliate links to Amazon or other companies, and purchases made via these links may earn us a small commission at no additional cost to you. Find out more here.

If you like the name Owen, find out the meaning, origin, nicknames, variations and other information to help you decide if you want to use this first name for your baby.

Name meaning, variations & etymology

  • May mean “noble-born,” “young warrior,” or someone “likely to serve”
  • May also mean sheep or lamb
  • In Wales, commonly spelled Owain
  • In Ireland/Scotland, the Celtic variations are Eoghan, Eóghain and Éogan, which can mean “young”
  • Related names include Ewan, Ewen, Ywain


More history of the name Owen

Owen is one of the many Welsh names that is not usual in England and the United States, and like most Welsh surnames, it is derived from a popular first name (Owain).

The Welsh did not take last names as soon as Englishmen did, and when they did, they usually simply took their own or their father’s first name as a family name.

Owen is of Celtic derivation, and probably means sheep or lamb. However, it may mean young warrior or, on another authority “apt to serve.”

Doubtless the first name Owen gained its popularity in Wales partly because of Owen or Owain, Prince of Powys, a valiant fighter who died in 1195; and partly because of Owen Glendower (Owain Glyn Dwr), last of the Welsh patriots, the defeated chief of a discontented people, who stubbornly held his own in a rugged mountain fastness, who lived and died in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

origin/Nationality

Welsh

baby Name length

4 letters (short but popular name length)

See related baby names

, , , ,

numerology digit

3

FREE baby name decor printable/download

Click below to download a large version of this baby name freebie! You can create something great with this graphic: print it out and frame it as a decoration for your baby’s room, or use the design as the basis for a cut file to use with your favorite electronic cutting machine (such as a Cricut or Silhouette).

After clicking the name image below, look in the upper right for saving and sharing options. Note: This download is for personal use only — the file may not be sold or redistributed. If you know someone who might like one of their own, please send them the link to this site!

Also see these articles